Inca well after Toshiba triumph

Colm Murphy reports Brave Inca to have come out of Sunday's emotional triumph at Leopardstown in fine form and all roads now lead to Cheltenham in a bid to regain his Champion Hurdle crown.

The 11-year-old brought the house down when claiming the Toshiba Irish Champion Hurdle, his first success since suffering an injury which kept him off the track for 19 months.

The gelding, who was also taking his Grade One tally into double figures, is back at Murphy's County Wexford base following his triumph and his handler could not be happier with his stable star's condition.

"We were absolutely over the moon with him on Sunday and it was just a fantastic day for everyone involved with the horse. We certainly celebrated last night," said Murphy.

"He seems grand this morning and has come out of the race really well. He's just gone out in the field to stretch his legs for a while so we're happy with him.

"He has a couple of entries but I suppose the Champion Hurdle would be the most obvious place to go now and we'll hope for a bit of rain again.

"He is probably better on the better ground himself but I think the testing conditions just inconvenience the others more than they do him."